Change, Loss, and a Summer to Remember
by The Sad Silver Wolf
Summary: Things start looking up for Tawney when her mom finally decides to move out of the boring state of Indiana...to another boring town called Lillian...but after she makes some new friends and disaster strikes, everything snaps into focus... (Suck at summaries...please read!) Rated T for cussing and violence
1. Chapter 1

**Wow guys! I'm actually writing! I haven't posted any stories in quite a bit…and I don't even know if anyone still reads Super 8 fanfictions…**

 **Anyway, this has been my favorite movie since I saw it about three years ago…and it is still my favorite movie. So, I guess I just figured, why not publish my fanfiction?**

 **I mean, I kind of forgot about the movie and such a while back, but when I saw Goosebumps and recognized Ryan Lee (actually, I thought he looked familiar and it was really bothering me since I couldn't remember where else I had seen him…It was my mom who remembered his role as Cary from Super 8…) realized I had to see it again! So I rewatched it yesterday and still love it. All of the kids are my favorite characters…well, except for Alice (she's too perfect) and Charles…he's waaaay too bossy. But I still adore Preston (he's an adorable coward XD), Martin (Sure, he vomits a lot and he's not the brightest crayon in the box *laughing* but he's a tall, terrified teenaged boy with dorky glasses and an adorable personality), Joe (come on, he's cute! Admit it, girls! *my mom spent half of the movie mocking me every time I saw Joe's sad or smiling face and said "Aaawwwww."*), and Cary (okay, lots of people love Cary….but seriously, Ryan Lee is awesome!).**

 **I'm betting you clicked on this story (I mean, if anyone even** ** _did_** **click on it) to read the story…So I guess I could just leave it at that.**

 **Oh, and I really appreciate it when people REVIEW. Because I want to know what people think of this story (Again; if people actually read it…). So now I'm going to shut up (and by that I mean I'll stop typing random crap that nobody really cares about *hehe, it's like reading the terms and conditions…does anybody still do that besides me?*) and let you read the story that you came here to read. Au revoir! Goodbye! Sayonara! Ciao! Adiós! Slán! And enjoy the story!**

* * *

 ** _"_** ** _Everything changes and, somewhere along the line, I'm changing with it."_**

 ** _-Eric Burdon_**

"Cary!" I exclaimed as a string of firecrackers exploded behind me. Cary was kneeling on the floor, laughing and holding up his lighter victoriously.

"Dammit Cary!" Charles shouted, marching towards him. "Could you stop blowing shit up for _two minutes_!?" Cary jumped to his feet, still grinning smugly, his braces glinting in the dim glow of the platform lights.

"Jeez man." He said, placing his thumb on top of the lighter cap. "Sorry." He flicked it shut with a light clink and zipped it back into his bag. I glared at him, but glanced at Charles out of the corner of my eye and giggled. It was always kind of funny to see him getting all director-like. His face always got very red when he shouted, and I always made a comparison to a tomato for some strange reason. But I didn't want to get him mad now, not when we were on such a tight schedule. The train would be arriving in just a few minutes, and this scene had to be perfect since we couldn't get another shot in who knew how long.

"How long do we have, Tawney?" Martin asked nervously, reading through his lines. His knuckles were white from trying to hold the papers in place while the wind was whipping through them. I looked closely at his costume and noticed his hat was on backwards. If Charles noticed that in the film, he would be pissed.

"We've got about three minutes at least." I said as I walked towards him and took off his hat.

"Hey, what're you-" I raised my hand and shushed him, then put the hat back on his head, this time putting it on the right way.

"I just saved our ass." I said with a smirk. "You can thank me later." I walked away towards Alice and Joe to check on their progress. "You almost done?" I asked. Joe nodded. "Good." I said. "Because we need time to practice the scene before the train gets here."

"Thanks." Joe muttered as he applied some eyeshadow to Alice's face. Charles walked up to me and got up in my face.

"Tawney, Preston needs help with his costume and I don't have the time to do everything." He announced, turning again to glare at Cary. "Don't touch the camera! I put it there for a reason!" he shouted, running towards the tripod.

"The stupid button's stuck." Preston said, struggling to button up his jacket.

"Oh great…" I muttered. "You know what, leave it like that. It's fine." I checked my watch. "Guys, hurry it up." I said with a warning glance at Cary. He laughed and shrugged, slinging his backpack over his shoulders, then we all got into out positions, and I kneeled behind Cary and the camera to double check that the placement was perfect.

"Remember, Martin. You have to reassure her." He paused for a moment. "Do you know what "reassure her" means?" Martin blinked slowly.

"Uh… yeah. I think so." He stammered.

"Good." Charles walked behind the camera with me. "Okay Alice, you love him very much. You don't want him to leave….do you think you could manage a few tears?" he asked. Alice glared at him and he shut up. I laughed. "And…action!"

I sat back and watched as the scene played out. Per usual, Martin stumbled over lines. He wasn't exactly the best actor, but he was a good guy, and he played the part pretty well…or, as well as he could.

"I have to leave. I don't have a choice…" Martin said with some uncertainty.

That was the cue, and Alice reached her main lines… "Everyone has a choice…" she muttered, her eyes glistening with fake—but still extremely convincing—tears. I was beginning to understand why Charles had cast her. She was incredible…her words tugged at my heart and, suddenly, the story became real to me…

"I just love you so much." she said at last, and the platform fell silent. Everyone was staring at her, wide-eyed, and Preston looked like he was about to drop the payphone, then Martin managed to whisper his line.

"Love you too…" Alice leaned to the side and peered around him, wiping her eyes.

"How was that?" she asked, as if even she wasn't convinced by her performance. Martin pulled his glasses up to wipe his own eyes, and Preston, Charles, and Joe swallowed nervously. Beside me, Cary didn't seem all that impressed, and I elbowed him sharply in the ribs to get at least a reaction from him.

"Yeah that was…really good." Charles said uneasily. Alice smiled… then, suddenly, the platform began to shake, and a roaring in the distance announced the arrival of the train.

"Guys!" Charles shouted urgently. "Production value!" he turned to Cary. "Did you put film in the camera?!" Cary gaped at him.

"What?! No! You never told me to!" My jaw dropped and my eyes wandered right away to the boxes of Super 8 film lying on the ground.

"Guys! We need to get everything set up!" I exclaimed as Cary dove towards the boxes and struggled to open them.

"Costumes! Places! Set up the camera! Hurry!" Charles shouted. His face was getting pretty red as he pushed and shoved people towards their places and props. Martin was fumbling with his stack of papers, trying not to drop them. I grabbed them from his hands and shooed him towards the center of the platform.

"Preston!" I shouted, pointing to the payphone.

"Yeah, I'm going." He said, slightly annoyed, probably since in those few short moments, I had become Charles the frantic perfectionist.

The train was almost at the platform, and it was going a lot faster than I had imagined. I stared at Joe as he zipped the back of Alice's dress and helped her into her overcoat. We were going to make it.

In the meantime, Cary had managed to load the camera with film, and the tripod was in place and perfectly still, even as he messed with the lens.

"Remember to speak really loudly when the train passes!" Charles shouted over the noise of the train. Joe ducked around us and lifted the microphone until it was close enough to pick of the voices of both Martin and Alice, and Charles slipped into his headphones. "Go!" Just at that moment, the train turned the corner to face the camera, and I feared that the light would ruin the scene, but Charles was loving it, so I didn't say anything.

I smiled as Alice once again perfected the scene. Even when she was yelling, her tears seemed heartfelt, and in that moment she again became the detective's wife. I glanced at Joe, who was staring at something behind me, but I couldn't say anything from where I was standing without the microphone picking it up too. So I shut my mouth, gently nudged the microphone's long handle to adjust it, and continued watching the scene play out.

"I just love you so much!" Alice shouted loudly over the roaring of the train.

"I love you too!" Martin said as soon as she closed her mouth.

"Watch out!" Joe screamed and I turned around just in time to see the front of the train hit something on the tracks and explode into a massive cloud of flames.

It took me a moment to register what had just happened, and in that moment the rest of the train cars began to explode, flying off the tracks and shooting debris in every direction.

"RUN!" Someone grabbed my arm, but I didn't see who it was. My eyes were glued to the train as it derailed and sent cars flying out to the side. I was yanked to the left and backwards onto the ground, where I fell on my back and snapped to attention.

"Everybody move!" I scrambled to my feet and saw Joe still standing on the platform. He was staring at Alice, who was standing there, frozen with fear. "Joe! Come on!" Alice ran in the opposite direction and I thought for a moment that he would follow her, but he turned towards me and ran with us.

Someone else shoved me to the ground. "Go Tawney! Get down!" It was Preston shoving me under the platform, which was lifted about two feet off the ground my wooden pegs. I crawled on all fours with Preston and Cary in front of me under the platform as everything went to hell right above our heads.

Somewhere ahead of us, a train car was suddenly thrown in the air. It sailed towards us like a fiery torpedo and crashed right through the platform where we had been seconds before. I screamed. I heard another voice scream, and black powder flew directly towards my face. I began to wheeze and cough and my eyes stung from the smoke that encircled us like a wreath.

I was shoved onto my side and out from under the platform, then someone whose face I could not see helped me to my feet. I couldn't see what was happening. I could only hear screaming and crashing and creaking and footsteps pounding against the dirt.

"Go go go!" Cary screamed, stumbling over some debris. As I ran, the car in front of me, which had appeared harmless, exploded, sending me flying back. I landed face-first this time, and I covered my head as debris came crashing down around me. I didn't even wait for it to stop before I jumped back to my feet and kept running. Staying in one place was extremely dangerous given the circumstances.

Then, I realized I was alone. In all the chaos, in the explosion, I had lost track of Cary, Charles, Preston, Joe, and Martin…or they had lost track of me.

I searched frantically for something to shelter me from the flames and metal flying through the air, but could find nothing, so I just kept running in a straight line as far away from the crash as I possibly could…but I realized with a sick feeling in my stomach that I was completely trapped…surrounded by flames. With a gasp, I noticed a train car labelled "explosives" and realized it was on fire. My eyes grew wide with alarm and, within seconds, it blew up in a huge cloud of burning gasoline.

I had ducked instinctually behind a large wall of bent and burnt train car siding, which, as far as I knew, shielded me from the flames, since the fire appeared to shoot right over my head.

I bent down and covered my head, holding my breath as the loud crashes and explosions slowed to a complete halt, but I stayed in my curled up position for a few moment longer to be sure that I was safe…then I slowly allowed myself to unravel and get to my feet…

There was one last distant crash, and in my mind, I imagined it was one of my friends.

"Cary?" I called weakly, trembling all over. "Is…Is that you?" nobody replied. I remembered how Cary's backpack was filled with fireworks and sparklers. If he were trapped or still alive, he would most likely send up a few of them…right? I stared at the sky, waiting for some sign that any of them were alive…but for that long moment that I spent waiting, nothing happened. I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted their names. "Preston! Joe!" Nothing happened….nobody replied. "Cary!" still nothing. "Martin! Alice! Charles!" nothing. No voices, no cries for help…only silence, and the crackling of the many fires surrounding me. The flaming wreckage was the only thing making a sound at all. "Guys!?" I attempted to call for them one more time…but still, nobody appeared. "Guys…?" I sank to my knees, shaking and trembling all over. My eyes were blank and I could not feel anything, even though my body was probably riddled with burns and scrapes.

None of it felt real. It couldn't possibly be real. Nothing exciting or unusual ever happened in Lillian, Ohio except for a steel mill incident… like the one that had claimed the life of Joe's mother. Nothing crazy was ever supposed to happen here…it was the most low-key and normal place where a person could live. So why had the impossible just happened here, when my friends and I had so foolishly decided to shoot a scene beside a speeding train?

My head was spinning, and hours seemed to pass. I was waiting for them to come to me…for one of my friends to tell me everything was fine. I imagined Cary jumping up and down and excitedly asking everyone if they had seen how amazing that explosion was…I was waiting for Martin to stumble over, terrified, eyes wide behind his glasses, and then vomit behind one of the train cars, just like he did every time he panicked or was startled…I was waiting for Joe to struggle to be positive, for him to laugh about how we had all made it…how it was a miracle…I was waiting for Charles to rage about losing his camera in the wreckage. But nobody came….nobody crawled out of the debris…nobody said a word to me…because they were all gone.

But my mind didn't believe it…I refused to believe…and instead, I remembered how they were as I had met them…five months ago…at the middle school…before all hell had broken loose, before the train…before the movie…

* * *

Snow was falling in little flurries when my mother and I had arrived in Lillian, Ohio. It brushed up against the window as it floated to the ground and melted upon impact. It was still pretty early, and the grass was stiff and white with frost. When I stepped outside and began to unpack my things from the trunk, the wilting green blades crunched underfoot, and I couldn't help but smile. My mom had decided to move out of Carmel, Indiana about a month ago, and I had longed for something new for years now. But although the sting of the cold was nothing new to me, it felt different than the frost that bit at my fingertips in Indiana.

"Well? What do you think?" My mother asked as she pulled two suitcases out of the backseat and popped the handles. She handed one to me and I helped her wheel it up the driveway. I smiled up at the house, admiring it.

"I think it beats Carmel." I replied, trying to fight back my surfacing Irish accent. I blamed the three week vacation with Dad and stepped to the side as Mom fished for the keys in the pocket of her coat. She cracked a smile and withdrew the key ring.

"I'll do the honors." She said with a laugh, inserting the key in the keyhole. "Close your eyes." I nodded and turned away. That's when I noticed the boy across the street standing next to his bike. He was staring at me. _New neighbors?_ I wondered, waving a little bit in his direction. He glanced behind him, as if he thought I was acknowledging someone else. Upon realizing there was nobody else, he smiled and waved back.

I heard the door creak and I turned around to see that my mom was already inside. I waved goodbye, then headed inside with the two suitcases in tow. I immediately dropped them.

"Whoa…" I gasped, smiling widely as I looked around at the interior of the house. It was cozy and, actually, quite pretty. The walls in the entry hallway were a dull sky blue, and the orange lights on the ceiling cast odd shadows from a chandelier in the kitchen.

"It looks even better in person, doesn't it?" my mom asked, referring to the many pictures she had shown me after I had returned from my stay at Dad's.

"Hell yeah…" My mother raised a brow.

"Ah ah…That's a nickel for the Swear Jar." She announced. I turned and stared at her for a moment, then grudgingly pulled a nickel out of my pocket and dropped it in her open palm.

"You know, one day that jar's gonna hold my college fund." I joked as my mother put the coin in her pocket along with the keys.

"Very funny." My mother replied, rolling her eyes with a loving glint in her eye. I stuffed my hands in the pocket of my jacket.

"So…where's my room?" I asked. My mother's eyes wandered to the stairs and she sighed.

"I knew you'd ask that." She said with a grin. "You get to choose one of the upstairs rooms." She handed me a key. "Some of them might still be locked. Here's the key." I grabbed it and bolted upstairs. "Just don't think you can set up camp in the big room on the left!" she called up to me. "That one's going to be my studio, okay?" I sighed and stopped at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, Mom!" I called back, racing all the way down to the end of the hallway where an open window was placed strategically to illuminate the entire upstairs area without using electricity. I pushed it shut, shivering, then turned curiously towards the room to my right. It seemed comfortable from the outside, and there was window on almost every wall. "Perfect." I muttered, imagining where my bed, dresser, and posters would go. I decided that my camera would sit on a shelf above the closest window, then I walked up to it to check out the view.

I could see the front of the house from that window, and the driveway was still marked up with the drag-marks from the suitcases and finely dusted footprints. It was like a movie set, completely empty and intricately designed by hand. All of the houses stood in neat rows with their square lawns and winding driveways. Then I saw something moving. I looked closer and, to my surprise, that boy was still there. He was a little bit closer to the house though, he had crossed the street. I pushed the window pane until it swung out a bit, and I leaned outside.

"Hey!" I called to the boy. He jumped and looked up at me, slightly alarmed. I didn't know what he was doing, but he looked kind of embarrassed to see someone was watching him. "What are you doing?" he backed up a bit.

"I was just…er…" he didn't seem to be able to come up with an answer right away, so he changed the subject. "You're the new people?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, my mom and I just moved here, like five minutes ago…" I said with a smile.

"Tawney? Have you chosen your room yet?" my mom called from downstairs. I poked my head back inside, but didn't reply. I wanted to keep talking to the boy. But when I turned around to see him again, he was gone…he had left behind him a trail of bike tracks. I followed them with my eyes and saw him riding away from my house. I bit my lip and leaned back inside to shut the window.

"Yeah, Mom. My room is the one with all the windows." I called back, not mentioning the boy. After all, there was a chance I would see him again at school… not that I was super excited about going back or anything. I shoved my hands back into my pockets and began my trek downstairs.

* * *

"Hey, Mom…when will my school supplies get here?" I wondered as I helped unload boxes from the minivan. She dropped one of the boxes in the living room and put her hands on her hips.

"That just about does it." She muttered to herself. She turned at look at me, wiped her forehead, and picked up another box. "This evening." I frowned and began to bring one of the boxes upstairs.

"Could you drive me to school tomorrow?" I asked, dropping the box at the top of the steps and returning to the living room. She smiled at me.

"I'd love to…but I have a job interview early tomorrow morning. I have to get ready." She seemed genuinely sorry, so I forgave her before I even reacted.

"Oh…okay. I guess I could walk. It's like, what, ten minutes away by foot?" I shrugged and used a box-cutter to slice the tape off the cardboard.

"Honey…" my mother muttered sadly. "I really wish I could take you…but I have work." I nodded.

"No, Mom…I totally understand. I swear." I said, smiling at her. She smiled back and handed me one of the boxes.

"Good….I love you, Tawney." She whispered.

"Love you too, Mom." I replied, returning upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**_"_** ** _We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."_**

 ** _-Harrison Ford_**

I trudged through the snow, my mind spinning as I pulled the straps of my backpack tight against my shoulders. I wondered if I would see that boy again. I would be able to ask his name, ask who he was, and what he had been doing standing in my yard.

My hand wandered to the side of my head and I grabbed a strand of my own hair and began to twirl it around my index finger. It was an old habit of mine to do so when I was nervous, and I continued to do it despite my mother's warnings about eventually getting a bald spot in the side of my head. I cracked a smile and released my hair, pulling my winter hat over my ears to keep them from freezing completely. I was probably maybe a few more minutes away from the school, but I couldn't tell. I had never been there before…all I knew was I had to keep walking forward from where I was now. Only problem was I didn't know where "here" was.

I stood around for a second, trying to figure out whether to go left or straight, and then suddenly someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped back and turned around, alarmed. I hadn't heard anybody coming, but maybe I just hadn't been paying attention.

It took me a moment to realize who the person was, then I saw that it was the boy from yesterday. My shoulders relaxed and I laughed. "Oh, it's you." I said with a smile. I noticed how stiffly he was standing, clutching the handles of his bike with gloved hands. "Are you okay?" I asked. He shook his head a bit to clear it and smiled back at me.

"Uh, yeah…." He cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, then back up at me. "I'm Preston, by the way. And your name's…Taylor, right?" I laughed and shook my head no.

"Actually, it's Tawney. But at least you came close. I've been called Tommy before and you have no idea how annoying it is." He seemed to be at a lack of words, so I continued the conversation. "It's Irish." I explained. He smiled and nodded.

"That's cool…" he paused for a moment and stared awkwardly at the ground. "You look a bit lost. Are you on your way to school?" he asked. I nodded. "Lillian Middle School?" I nodded again and smiled.

"How'd you know?" I crossed my arms loosely in front of me and Preston shrugged.

"I didn't." he replied. "I just guessed since you were on the road I usually take…" I stared at his bike tires, covered in snow.

"Why are you riding your bike in the winter?"

"I dunno…" he sighed. I could see his breath, fog in the air. "I guess I was bored." He looked around as if he were checking to see if anyone else was around. "I could take you to the Middle School if you'd like." He offered kindly. I looked up at him and smiled.

"That would be great, thanks." I said with a genuine smile.

"Um…okay." He didn't really seem to have been expecting the reply I had given him, then he started to get on his bike but stopped. "I could walk with you. Follow me." He started walking up the sidewalk, holding his bike at his side and wheeling it up with him. I walked quickly to catch up with him, then slowed down.

"So, what class do you have first?" I asked. He took a deep breath.

"English with Mrs. Field." He said quietly. My expression brightened.

"Hey, me too!" I stared shyly at my sneakers, which were now covered with snow. "I've never been to the school before…I don't know…would you be willing to help me out when we get there?" I asked. He slowed his pace for a moment, and I stopped to let him catch up to me when I realized I was ahead.

"Uh…yeah." I smiled and laughed mentally, but not in a mean way…more in a sweet way. I just thought it was pretty adorable how he started almost all of his sentences with "um" or "uh," as if talking to me were awkward. I couldn't help but think, _Does he like me?_ But I quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who got to hang around girls a lot, and I didn't know anything about him…maybe I was one of the first girls to talk to him…like I was to my friend Wesley from the middle school I had gone to in Carmel, Indiana.

* * *

Lunch wasn't half as enjoyable as I had made it out to be in my head, but it was fine, considering that I shared lunch period with Preston and his friends. Of course, he introduced me to them almost immediately, and he seemed less awkward around them.

"Hey guys, this is Tawney…the-"

"New girl?" a chubby boy asked, looking me over with narrowed eyes and a quizzical look. Something about him made me uncomfortable. It was like he was judging me…severely.

"Yeah." I replied, waving. "Moved in yesterday."

"She's a few houses down from your place, Joe." Preston said to one of the boys. Joe looked at me and smiled.

"Nice to meet you." He said. _At least he's polite,_ I thought with a grin. The taller kid with dorky glasses wasn't looking at me, and it seemed like he was actually avoiding me.

"So…what are you doing with a girl, Preston?" the chubby boy wondered, still looking me over. I could feel my face reddening.

"Oh, uh, I've been showing her around…she doesn't have any friends yet so…I offered to let her sit with us, you know?" the chubby kid finally stopped staring at me, and instead turned his attention to Preston.

"Oh, so you guys aren't dating or anything?" Preston shook his head immediately, and I almost felt offended, but I realized I didn't know him at all, I was a stranger, and that I wasn't allowed to date until I was sixteen anyway, so it didn't matter if I was in a relationship, real or made up.

"Charles, I literally met her yesterday." Preston explained. Suddenly, a kid dropped his lunch tray in the middle of the table. He had braces and a crooked, cocky grin as he sat down. He didn't seem to notice me at all.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, tucking what looked like a lighter into his pocket.

"Oh jeez, dude. What did you do now?" Charles asked with a frustrated look. The new boy laughed and looked around to make sure there weren't any teachers present.

"Set off a stink bomb in the library." He whispered smugly.

"God, Cary! You're going to get us all in trouble!" the tall boy exclaimed. Cary shrugged, then suddenly appeared to have noticed me.

"Wait, did Preston get a girlfriend?" he gaped at Preston then at me, and I laughed and shook my head.

"Nope. I'm just the new kid…I met him earlier today and he offered to show me around." Cary narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Oh, so he only likes you…" Preston stiffened and glared at Cary.

"Shut up, Cary. I was just trying to be polite!" Preston argued. Cary smiled and shrugged.

"Jeez, Math Club. Don't take everything so seriously." Preston's face reddened.

"Math Club?" I wondered aloud. What kind of a nickname was that? I guessed that it was a bad thing to Preston, since he seemed to be getting upset by it, and I wished I hadn't said anything.

"Oh yeah, this guy's a total nerd who spends his summer in Math Club." Cary snickered. "Maybe you want to go and find a manlier guy."

"Shut up…" Preston growled. Cary rolled his eyes and leaned forward to stare at the tall kid with glasses.

"Oh, and I guess you've already met Smartin?" the tall boy sat up straight.

"I told you not to call me that, Cary." He said darkly.

"Oh, and what're you gonna do about it, Smartin? Puke on me?" Cary laughed loudly for everyone to hear, and the boy – Martin, I guessed, was his name – exhaled impatiently and got up to throw away the remaining contents on his tray. I sighed and began to kick at the tile floor with the toe of my shoe. Then, Charles began to stare at me again.

"So…are you into movies?" he asked. His question caught me off guard and I looked up at him, confused.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I wondered.

"Well, you see, my friends and I are making a zombie movie for a film festival that's in a few months…and we're pretty short on cast." He stared at Cary then turned back to me. "You see, Cary here has been the only person we've been able to turn into a zombie for the entire movie…and now that we've got you…"

"Wait, so you want me to be in your zombie movie? As a zombie?" Charles nodded. "Well…I don't see why not. I mean, I've got nothing else to do until the moving truck gets to my house." Charles smiled and nodded.

"Perfect! I can get you a script by Monday." He announced. I grinned. This would be pretty fun…I mean, I'd never been in a movie, let alone one done by a fellow student.

"Sounds cool." I said calmly.

* * *

 **(One month later…)**

"Heads up, Tawney!" Cary shouted. I turned my head to see several lit firecrackers flying towards me.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, ducking out of the way and running as far away from them as I could, covering my head with my hands as they exploded all around me. Cary doubled over, laughing, as I ran, and he could scarcely stand up straight. "Cary, you asshole!" I growled, but I couldn't help but smile. It probably was pretty funny from his angle, especially considering the weird face I had most likely made when I ducked away from the firecrackers. That only made Cary laugh harder, and I knew perfectly well why he had played that trick on me…again…the third time this week.

I could never stay mad at him. I sucked at holding grudges. And even when Cary did stupid things like that, I knew it was his version of a joke, and I would laugh along with him instead of storming off to be laughed at. If he did that to anyone else (which I always assumed he had), he'd probably get beat up or something.

One of the only times when I did get mad at him was when he did something stupid and hurt himself. And today, he had a bandage around his ankle from one of his failed attempts to escape a rogue firework.

"You are such an _ass!_ " I shouted as he laughed at me.

"Oh, I know." He replied, leaning against a fence as he continued to crack up.

Martin, Joe, Preston, and Charles watched from a distance, preparing for a zombie death scene, which was why Cary was currently covered in fake blood and zombie makeup, curtesy of Joe along with some assistance on my behalf. Martin shook his head.

"How do you do that?" he asked me. Ever since the first day I had met him, he had talked to me more and more, until talking to me was like talking to family. It made me happy that he now thought of me like that, and not just that awkward new kid from last month.

"How do I do what?" I asked, turning away from Cary after debating whether or not to kick rocks at him. Martin sighed and pointed at Cary.

"How do you put up with him?" I laughed and glanced over my shoulder at Cary.

"Oh, it's wasn't easy at first, but then I remembered that he's really just a helpless, fragile little midget and I learned how to deal with his idiotic pranks." I smirked at Cary and Martin smiled a bit, pushing up his dorky glasses with his index finger.

"Oh, so I'm helpless now, am I?" Cary asked as if my statement had been a challenge.

"Of course not, Cary." I said almost mockingly. "You're incredibly tough and scary…especially dressed like a zombie in a suit." I gestured to his costume and laughed. He smirked and gnashed his fake-bloodstained teeth.

"Yeah? Well I can still turn you into the undead." He shot back, snarling like a zombie. I laughed and held up Martin's fake blank gun, one of the props I was in charge of until one of Martin's shooting scenes.

"One more step and your fake, undead blood will be spurting out your nose." I threatened, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.

"Tawney! Don't fire that! We're low on blanks and I don't want to spend more stolen money on those stupid things!" Charles called angrily. I rolled my eyes and put the gun back in my pocket.

"I wasn't really going to fire it, Charles!" I called back. He stomped back towards the set, kicking up snow in his wake.

I was surprised that Cary wasn't freezing at this point. There were at least four inches of snow on the lawn, and in the background, even Preston was shivering, and he was wearing an overcoat over his sweater. He rubbed his hands together and walked towards me, leaving deep footprints in the snow.

"Hey Tawney, didn't your mom say she'd make hot chocolate?" he asked, pointing at my house, which was only a few feet away. I began to wonder why we were all waiting for Charles and Joe to finish from outside.

"Preston, that was only a few minutes ago, and our stove is shit so it takes a while for it to heat up completely." Preston shook his head.

"You know, Tawney. You're not really like other girls I know…" he sighed. "You swear a lot more." I laughed.

"Yeah, that's probably 'cause I'm Irish. You should hear my dad and my uncle. My dad says it makes me sound tough…and my mom makes me pay her every time I swear." Preston half-smiled, then gazed at the house and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. "You know, if you're that cold, you can go inside."

"Really? Your mom won't mind if we get snow on the floor?" Preston asked. I nodded.

"Oh, sure, she doesn't mind. I'm the one who cleans up anyway." I said reassuringly. I turned to look at Cary, who had gone on to bother Martin. "Cary! Martin!" they looked up at me from where they sat on the bench on the far side of the yard. "Preston and I are headed inside to warm up, want to join us?"

"Hell yeah!" Cary jumped to his feet and raced towards us, tripping a bit in the snow, and Martin nodded and followed close behind, holding onto his hat as the wind almost knocked it off of his head.

"Joe!" I called. Joe perked up and turned to face me. "You want to come inside or are you and Charles okay staying outside?" Joe glanced at the set, then at Charles, then at my house…then he rose to his feet, carrying a script in one hand and his dad's camera in the other.

"I think I'll actually come inside." He called, walking towards us.

"Hey! Where are you guys going! Don't abandon the scene!" Charles shouted scornfully, following me as I unlocked the back door with my house key and held it open for the others.

"Mom?" I called after I had shut and locked the door. I glanced at the wooden floor of the kitchen, which was now dripping wet, and I followed a trail of snow up to Cary, who was standing in the middle of the living room with his shoes still on. "Cary!" I exclaimed. "Take your shoes off! I don't want to have to mop up snow in the entire house!" Cary jumped a bit then bent over to remove his shoes. He chucked them into the kitchen and sat down on the couch as if he owned the place. He had been here before, of course, and after a few visits, he became comfortable enough to act like he lived there, too.

"Sorry, Tawney." He picked up the television remote and pressed a few buttons.

"Ha, nice try." I sneered. "My mom unplugged it a while ago to make me spend less time watching movies and more time outside." Cary groaned and again got to his feet, and I allowed them to hang out while I looked for my mom.

As I crossed the kitchen, I saw that the stove was lit, and a kettle of milk was bubbling and steaming. I raced over to it and switched it off, alarmed. "Mom?" she wasn't answering me, and I was beginning to worry that she had left or something. Then, I heard her gasp, and I ran towards her. "Mom? What's going on?" she was upstairs. I could hear her now. I figured she was on the phone, so I walked over to the nearest telephone and picked it up to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"Is…Is Joe at your house?" a male voice asked from the other end of the line. I figured it was Charles' dad. It sounded a lot like him.

"Um, yes…" my mother replied. Her voice was static and distorted through the phone line.

"Well…I'm afraid there's been an accident…at the steel mill…" My heart seemed to stop beating and caught in my throat. I coughed a little bit away from the mouthpiece but continued to listen. Joe's mother worked at the Steel Mill… I felt someone tap me lightly on the shoulder and I turned around to see Joe. Quickly, I hung up the phone and placed it back in its holder.

"Hey…Tawney, is everything okay? Where's your mom?" I trembled as he stared into my eyes. Something bad had happened to his mom…I couldn't tell him…I didn't want him to find out like that. My eyes wandered to the phone and I stepped between him and the counter. Joe eyed the phone suspiciously and reached around me for it.

"Joe…don't…" I muttered, my eyes brimming with tears. He picked up the phone and held it up to his ear, his eyes glued to me the whole time. I could barely hear what Charles' father said on the other line, but I could still make out what he had said.

"The boy's mother was killed…" Joe dropped the phone and it clattered to the floor, only to spring back up on the cord, and he stumbled back into the wall. Tears sprang into my eyes and I covered my mouth.

"I'm so sorry Joe…." I whispered, sitting next to him from where he was now sitting against the wall, staring off into space. "So sorry…"


End file.
